Replaceable vane insert for impeller

ABSTRACT

An impeller for a paper pulp having a plurality of blade receiving stations each receiving a blade with a bulbous end seated in an axial recess for locking the blade in position with the blade additionally being held by a slotted rotor and being bolted in place with its outer end shaped for refining.

United States Patent Bump s4] REPLACEABLE VANE INSERT FOR IMPELLER 72]Inventor: Philip G. Bump, Pittsfield, Mass. [73] Assignee: BeloitCorporation, Beloit, Wis.

[22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 118,429

[52] US. Cl ..24ll294, 144/235 [51] Int. Cl ..B02c 18/06 [58] Field ofSearch..24l/278 R, 291, 293, 294, 300;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,829,630 10/1931Bolton....- ..24l/294 [is] 3,707,267 [451 Dec. 26, 1972 8/1888Grzybowski ..144/235 8/1898 Schleicher ..144/235 PrimaryExaminer-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross& Simpson [57 ABSTRACT An impeller for a paper pulp having a pluralityof blade receiving stations each receiving a blade with a bulbous endseated in an axial recess for locking the blade in position with theblade additionally being held by a slotted rotor and being boltedin'place with v t its outer end shaped for refining.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a paper stockpulping operation the rotors are run at a high speed and having cuttingblades or vanes which engage the pulp and perform the pulping opera--tion. One type of pulper is used on wastepaper refining.

As these impellers operate, the vanes become dull and need regrinding tothe required shape. In one form of construction, the vanes are integralwith the rotor and this required removal of the full impeller to buildup the leading surfaces of the impeller vanes with weld material and togrind the vanes to the required shape. The impellers of a pulper of thetype with which the present invention is employed operate continuouslyand provide positive high intensity mixing for the liquids in the pulpertank. An optimum impeller functions to assure good circulation and rapidpulp breakup. At relatively high impeller rotating tip speed, fastoperation with more difficult pulps can be accomplished. Yet, thisconstruction provides more stringent operating additions for theimpeller vanes. While certain features of the. invention may be embodiedin other types of structures, the structure is particularly well suitedto use-in a wastepaper pulper and will be described in connection withthat use. The pulping of wastepapers is a large part of the paperindustry, and over 90 percent of collected wastepaper is used in thisway. Old newspapers, wrapping papers, boxes and other mixed papers aremechanically disintegrated at a high temperature until the wastepaper.has been reduced to the desired degree of fineness, and the defiberedstock is then used directly in making paperboard after a small degree ofrefining. The consistency of the wastepaper and the foreign particlesmake wear of the pulper and its pulping blades imminent and with wear itis essential that the leading surfaces of the impeller be repaired. Thesource of foreign elements in the wastepapers is obvious from theirsource which consists of mixed paper, kraft wrapping, old corrugatedcontainers collected from industrial concerns, department stores and soforth, old newspapers and magazines, waste from printers, envelopemanufacturers and manufacturers of special paper products, and cuttingsfrom corrugated box and bag manufacturers. Because of the economy ofusing wastepaper, it is highly desirable that this source of pulp beemployed to the largest extent possible. The wastepaper stock isprocessed on cylinder machine mills and in the absence of sufficienteconomical waste, they are forced to use higher and higher proportionsof virgin pulp. It is thus highly desirable to provide an improvedstructure for the processing of wastepaper to bring down the cost andmake'the processing of waste more efficient and more desirable.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a uniquerefiner impeller wherein the impeller has vanes which operate integrallybut wherein the vanes are removable for replacement or reconstruction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedimpeller having removable vanes which are held in place by a uniqueconstruction that positively positions them-and holds them completelyrigid, but which permits individual removal of the vanes for replacementwhen they are worn or for substitution of vanes of a differentcharacter.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentwith the teaching of the principles thereof inconnection with thedisclosure of the specification, claims and drawings, in which:

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of an impellerrotor constructed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

H6. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along linell-ll of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view taken from the opposite side ofthe rotor as compared with FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An impeller 10 is cast in onepiece and has an outer flange 10a, an inner flange 1012 with a rimportion 10e therebetweenand has strengthening webs such as and 10d. Thecast ringis arranged to be suitably attached such as by bolts receivedin threaded bosses 10f to'a center portion of the rotor for beingmounted in the refiner. The refiner will have a suitablehousing, and inrefiners such as used in wastepaper pulping, suitable inlets for thewastepaper and liquid and a discharge for the pulp will be provided.

The impeller rotor 10 is provided with a plurality of blade receivingstations such as 11 and 12, FIG. 3. At each station is secured a bladeor vane 13 which is positioned on the rotor as an insert. The outer end13a is shaped and ground for the refining operation.

The inner end of the vane 13 is held in place with a key-like lockincluding a bulbous insert 14. The insert fits a cylindrically shapedrecess or socket 15 which is formed to extend axially into the impeller.The socket 15 is accurately positioned so that the bulbous end 14 willfit into the socket and will hold the vane 13 circumferentially in anaccurate position. The direction of rotation of the impeller and theangular position of the vane is such that the reaction of the stock onthe vane pulls on the vane against the holding strength of the insertl4.

The vane 13 is additionally held by being received in a slot 18 whichextends angularly radially outwardly from the socket 15. The vane isplanar having flat upper and lower surfaces and the slot 18 is of a sizeto snugly receive the vane as it is slid axially therein, and this holdsthe vane at its proper angle with respect to the rotor impeller 10.

To hold the vane seated in the socket and against the axial inner edgeof the slot 158, a recessed head bolt 22 threads into the rotor impeller10 into a block 20 welded in place and lying against the flange We ofthe rotor. The block 20 is threaded at 21 to-receive the bolt 22. Toadditionally hold the vane in position, holes are drilled through itsflat surface and a flattened land area 18a which is an extension of theslot 18 is drilled to receive bolts 23, 24 and 25 which are recessed andhold the vane in its position.

For removal of the vanes to refinish them or to insert new vanes, thebolts 23, 24 and 25 are removed, the bolt 22 is removed, and the vanesare slid axially out of the slot 18 and new or refinished vanes arereadily replaced.

Thus, vanes of different characteristics can be readily substituted.Also, the horsepower drawn by the impeller may be changed by changingthe shape or size of the vanes that are used. With the simple change thedamage to a single impeller vane edge can be taken care of by simplyreplacing the damaged vane without removal of the entire impeller as washeretofore necessary.

Thus, it will be seen that in operation the rotor rotates in a directionso that the vanes present a pulping surface and edge to the waste stock.The frictional pull on the vanes is against the locking socketarrangement so thatthe vanes are firmly and efficiently held. Wear whichoccurs will prevail on the facing flat surfaces and outer edges of thevanes so that by replacement of the vanes, a completely fresh pulpingsurface will be presented to the stock. Also, in different types ofoperation or-in different horsepower requirements, vanes of differentheights or different characters can be readily exchanged and replacedwith a minimum of shutdown'time for the impeller. Also, if a single vaneis damaged, it is not necessary to remove the entire impeller as washeretofore necessary. Also, depending upon the position of the elementsin the particular design of refiner used, individual vanes can-bechanged without necessitating completely draining the machine althoughthis is nottrue in a vertical pulper. Also, in certain processes it maybecome desirable to use different vanes of different characteristicsaround the periphery of the impeller and this can be accomplished byusing different vanes at different stations. Also, dynamic balancing ofthe impeller can be accomplished by the insertion of vanes of differentweights. it will be appreciated that a recessed type of holding bolt isadvantageous for locking the vanes in place, but that other types ofspecific types of fastening bolts may be employed.

Thus, it will be seen that l have provided an improved impellerconstruction which achieves the advantages and objectives set forthabove, which is readily assembled and disassembled and provides for animproved construction which achieves improved refining operations.

1 claim:

1. A construction for a paper pulper comprising,

an impeller rotor having at least one blade receiving station forsupporting the blade at the station,

a blade for each of the stations being generally planar and having ashaped outer end with cutting edges, the inner end of the blade havingan enlarged positioning portion, said rotor station having an accuratelylocated socket for receiving said enlarged positioning portion of theblade so that the blade is radially and circumferentially supportedagainst circumferential running forces and against impact forces due toengagement with the materials being refined, and

bolt means extending through said blade into the rotor for additionallyholding the blade at a station where it is located by said positioningportion.

2. A construction for a paper pulper comprising,

a rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced blade receivingstations for supporting a blade at each of the stations,

, a' plurality of generally planar blades for the stations each havingshaped outer ends-for cutting materials to be processed, Y

the inner ends of each of the blades'being bulbous with a thicknessgreater than the planar blade,

axially opening the sockets in the rotor for receiving said bulbous endsand being accurately located to accurately position the blades,

additional securing means on the rotor for securing the blades,including narrow slots opening radially and opening axially in the samedirection as the sockets .for receiving the blades with these slotsbeing of substantially the thickness of the blades to aid in holdingthem in position.

- 3. A construction for a paper pulper comprising,

a rotor having a plurality of circumferentially spaced blade receivingstations for supporting a blade at each of the stations, 4

a plurality of generally planar blades for the stations each havingshaped outer ends for cutting materials to be processed, the inner endsof each of the blades being bulbous with a thickness greater than theplanar blade,

axially opening the'sockets in the rotor for receiving said bulbous endsand being accurately located to accuratelyposition the blades,

additional securing means on the rotor for securing the blades,

the bulbous ends of the blades having a center opening for receiving abolt and the socket of the rotor having means for accommodating thefastening of the bolt. 4. A construction for a paper pulper inaccordance with claim 2 including bolt openings through each of theblades with means in the rotor for receiving the bolts to additionallysecure the blades.

5. A construction for a paper pulper comprising, a rotor having aplurality of circumferentially spaced blade receiving stations forsupporting a blade at each of the stations, a plurality of generallyplanar blades for the stations each having shaped outer ends for cuttingmaterials to be processed, the inner ends of each of the blades beingbulbous with a thickness greater than the planar blade,

axially opening the sockets in the rotor for receiving said bulbous endsand being accurately located to accurately position the blades,

additional securing means on the rotor for securing the blades, thebulbous end of the blade having an axially extending opening forreceiving a bolt, and

means on the rotor for securing the bolt,

the blades each having angular circumferentially extending openings forbolts to extend into angular circumferential openings in the rotor foradditionally securing the blades.

6. A construction for a paperpulper comprising,

an impeller rotor havingat least one blade receiving station forsupporting the blade at the station,

a blade for each of the stations being generally planar and having ashaped outer end with cutting edges, the inner end of the blade havingan enlarged positioning portion, said rotor station having an accuratelylocated socket for receiving said enlQ l 2 0222 larged positioningportion of the blade so that the blade is radially and circumferentiallysupported against circumferential running forces surfaces which surfacesextend axially in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotor andwhich extend radially at a trailing angle so that the reaction of theblade with the material being refined pulls against said socket.

l l I l

1. A construction for a paper pulper comprising, an impeller rotorhaving at least one blade receiving station for supporting the blade atthe station, a blade for each of the stations being generally planar andhaving a shaped outer end with cutting edges, the inner end of the bladehaving an enlarged positioning portion, said rotor station having anaccurately located socket for receiving said enlarged positioningportion of the blade so that the blade is radially and circumferentiallysupported against circumferential running forces and against impactforces due to engagement with the materials being refined, and boltmeans extending through said blade into the rotor for additionallyholding the blade at a station where it is located by said positioningportion.
 2. A construction for a paper pulper comprising, a rotor havinga plurality of circumferentially spaced blade receiving stations forsupporting a blade at each of the stations, a plurality of generallyplanar blades for the stations each having shaped outer ends for cuttingmaterials to be processed, the inner ends of each of the blades beingbulbous with a thickness greater than the planar blade, axially openingthe sockets in the rotor for receiving said bulbous ends and beingaccurately located to accurately position the blades, additionalsecuring means on the rotor for securing the blades, including narrowslots opening radially and opening axially in the same direction as thesockets for receiving the blades with these slots being of substantiallythe thickness of the blades to aid in holding them in position.
 3. Aconstruction for a paper pulper comprising, a rotor having a pluralityof circumferentially spaced blade receiving stations for supporting ablade at each of the stations, a plurality of generally planar bladesfor the stations each having shaped outer ends for cutting materials tobe processed, the inner ends of each of the blades being bulbous with athickness greater than the planar blade, axially opening the sockets inthe rotor for receiving said bulbous ends and being accurately locatedto accurately position the blades, additional securing means on therotor for securing the blades, the bulbous ends of the blades having acenter opening for receiving a bolt and the socket of the rotor havingmeans for accommodating the fastening of the bolt.
 4. A construction fora paper pulper in accordance with claim 2 including bolt openingsthrough each of the blades with means in the rotor for receiving thebolts to additionally secure the blades.
 5. A construction for a paperpulper comprising, a rotor having a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced blade receiving stations for supporting a blade at each of thestations, a plurality of generally planar blades for the stations eachhaving shaped outer ends for cutting materials to be processed, theinner ends of each of the blades being bulbous with a thickness greaterthan the planar blade, axially opening the sockets in the rotor forreceiving said bulbous ends and being accurately located to accuratelyposition the blades, additional securing means on the rotor for securingthe blades, the bulbous end of the blade having an axially extendingopening for receiving a bolt, and means on the rotor for securing thebolt, the blades each having angular circumferentially extendingopenings for bolts to extend into angular circumferential openings inthe rotor for additionally securing the blades.
 6. A construction for apaper pulper comprising, an impeller rotor having at least one bladereceiving station for supporting the blade at the station, a blade foreach of the stations being generally planar and having a shaped outerend with cutting edges, the inner end of the blade having an enlargedpositioning portion, said rotor station having an accurately locatedsocket for receiving said enlarged positioning portion of the blade sothat the blade is radially and circumferentially supported againstcircumferential running forces and against impact forces due toengagement with the materials being refined, the blade having planarupper and lower surfaces and the rotor having parallel planar supportingsurfaces which surfaces extend axially in a direction parallel to theaxis of the rotor and which extend radially at a trailing angle so thatthe reaction of the blade with the material being refined pulls againstsaid socket.